Please Help Save Planet Pooch!


Since 1999, Lewis "Dan" Daniels and Planet Pooch have provided humane, cage-free dog care and boarding to residents of Redwood City and the broader Peninsula community.

Though Planet Pooch is primarily a doggie daycare, since its inception, owner Dan Daniel's mission has always been two pronged -- to provide care for dogs in need and to help the community. 

In conjunction with organizations such as Kainos and Hope Services, Dan and the Planet Pooch staff have trained and employed developmentally disabled adults, providing them with meaningful work. Their commitment to enriching the community has expanded over the last 10 years to include working with veterans with PTSD, individuals living with mental illness, and those in recovery. They also provide loving foster care to dogs until they are adopted into their forever homes. Just a few stories of those whose lives have been touched by Dan and Planet Pooch appear below.



Unfortunately, in recent months, the Bay Area has been racked by Canine Influenza H3N2 (dog flu). Dog flu is a virus that no dogs have a resistance to, and which requires two vaccinations over the course of five weeks in order to ensure a dog is fully immune. This unforeseen outbreak has wreaked havoc on Planet Pooch's dogs, their families, and the business. The extra costs, vet bills, and immediate drop in the number of dogs able to come to Planet Pooch (less than 20% of dogs are vaccinated), has depleted most of their resources. 

Planet Pooch is now facing the terrifying prospect of closing the business. 



Please donate today to support Planet Pooch and all of the community members who rely on this vital organization. All funds raised will go to the operating costs associated with keeping Planet Pooch open until its regular customers are fully vaccinated and can return to their beloved doggie daycare. Any additional funds raised will be donated to benefit Paws for Purple Hearts through Dan Daniel's Tuff Mutter charitable endeavor. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!



 Who has Planet Pooch helped?

• Kainos Home and Training Center: Helping disabled individuals live active fulfilled lives: http://www.kainosusa.org/ 


• Thulani Senior German Shepherd Rescue: www.thulanidogs.org 
• Paws for Purple Hearts: Canine-Assisted Warrior Therapy for wounded service members and veterans: https://pawsforpurplehearts.org/  




• Tuff Mutter: Benefits advocates of veterans rights, health, and safety: http://www.tuffmutter.com/  



 Testimonials

"Planet Pooch has been an amazing partner for Thulani Senior German Shepherd Rescue for over two years. Dan and his staff have given their time and have opened up their doors to foster these rescue dogs. They have fostered over 30 German shepherds in the last 2 years. They continue to be a valued partner in our community.

Planet Pooch has never turned away a rescue German shepherd in need. They have taken dogs that needed training, dogs that have been frightened and shy, dogs with pent up energy from being at shelters and have given them a safe place to gain their confidence back. Dan has provided them patience, love, and safe home while they awaits to be adopted.

Planet Pooch and his team are unlike other doggy day cares. They have been an invaluable partner to Thulani Senior German Shepherd Rescue. We could not rescue as many dogs without our partnership with Planet Pooch." 


-Irene Torres-Tabor
www.thulanidogs.org

TSGSR -Thulani Senior German Shepherd Rescue
.... a legacy of helping the most vulnerable




"When I began working at Planet Pooch in 2010 I had no idea what a profound effect it would have on my life. I was attending college at SFSU as a hospitality/hotel business major with an everlasting love for dogs. I had always loved dogs, but it wasn’t until I started working at Planet Pooch that I knew I had to spend the rest of my life being around dogs. 

First the idea of owning a dog friendly hotel ran around in my mind and Dan and I would discuss all the potential ups and downs and over time I realized that veterinary medicine was the right calling for me. I worked at Planet Pooch until I graduated in 2015 and to say that Planet Pooch was a college job would be a serious disservice.

Dan and the Planet Pooch team became family to me and still support me like one even though I live thousands of miles away going to veterinary school. Over five years I saw the company grow and myself grow with it – new customers, a promotion for me (yay!), the loss of some beloved friends, and more new friends than I could have imagined (two and four legged kind). 

Dan saw me through some rough times including: providing me a place to live during the summer, paying for life saving procedures when my cat was sick, always providing me AND my family with free doggy daycare, lending me a car when I’m in town, and the list could go on and on.

If you don’t know Dan I can tell you that he is one of the kindest and most genuine people you will ever meet. He has never been one to care about money or materialistic things, he only cares about the quality of care his customers and dogs get and treating the people in his life with help and kindness. I have seen him give away more of his time and money to people who need it than anyone I’ve ever met including a time he paid for customers to eat at local Mexican restaurant to help it from going out of business, taking his employees out on their birthdays, paying for all of his employees to have gym memberships, etc.



Planet Pooch is really a family company and when you take your dog there you can know that it is being treated the way their own dogs would be treated – loved and spoiled rotten. If you have ever taken your dog to Planet Pooch then you know that Dan and the rest of the team are willing to bend over backwards to make you and your dog feel at ease and well taken care of. It is our turn to give back to the man and place that have given so much to the community. I can truly say I would not be where I am today without Planet Pooch."

-Talara Araujo





"I first walked into Planet Pooch in 2009 when I was hired as a daycare attendant. I’ve always loved dogs, and I was so excited to spend my days surrounded by them and call it a “job”. I worked there my summers and weekends through college, and to this day I will drop in on weekends from my full-time job if Dan ever needs a helping hand. Working at PP, I got to know Dan and the Planet Pooch family- I say family because the dogs (and customers) at Planet Pooch become just that! Everyone knows all the dogs and treats them as if they were their own pups. The people that are there, are there because they want to be.

To this day I still see dogs from my time at PP at Fort Funston, the dog park, or even in the streets and I’ll say “Oh my gosh, it’s Holly!” or something along those lines. And it brightens the owners faces to know that people like me recognize the dogs even if its been months or years since their last daycare or sleepover.



And Dan himself is the biggest dog lover of all. He loves the dogs, and is willing to work with scared, shy, or dogs with any issues. And he is such a giving person! When I used to work at the Daycare, I once witnessed him gift the pink slip of an old shuttle van to a man in need for free so that he could live in. When he knew I wanted to pursue videography, he gifted me some old lights he had in his attic so that I could put them to use. He watches my current pups for free, no matter how last minute something comes up for work. I would not be able to have my dog with my current job if it were not for him and Planet Pooch.

This company is everything to him- and he works harder than anyone I know. I can’t imagine him losing this company and what it would mean to all the dogs that need this place!"



-Mared Hidalgo




"I worked at Planet Pooch for over a decade and loved it. It was the only job I loved coming to every day. Dan was not only my boss, but also a friend at the same time. I would bring my dogs to work with me, and they loved coming with me. When I went on vacation. I knew they were in good hands with him"



-Andrew Giraudo




"As a manager of Estrellita Restaurant, I witnessed the goodness in Dan’s heart by helping a small business owner in a difficult time. He donated $3,000 to the owner to help him stay in business. Dan also ran promotions benefitting the restaurant at Planet Pooch. He gave any customer's dog a free night at Planet Pooch if they showed him a receipt from Estrellita. It didn’t matter how small the amount, and he didn’t get any percentage of the sale from the restaurant.

Dan also organized dinners at Estrellita with dog owners, again without any discount or special prices. These were selfless acts, pure kindness. 

Dan helped the restaurant stay in business longer, until the owner was able to find someone else to purchase the restaurant, and helped me to continue to have a job.



With the new owner Dan continued to run promotions to benefit Estrellita, and the owner and I are very grateful for all of the support we have received from Dan and Planet Pooch."



-Adriana, Estrellita Mexican Bistro & Cantina

"The crew at Planet Pooch has been looking out for the welfare of our dogs for more than 10 years. Our dogs have played all day, slept in beds with the crew at night, splashed through the pools, and we have even attended training classes there. Planet Pooch, in short, provides the attention to our dogs that we only hoped for previously. But even those qualities aren’t the whole story.

Dan, behind the scenes, illustrates what a small business with a community mindset can do. Through his collaboration with other organizations, he has given opportunities, time, and resources to support the local and national community. Dan’s vision of an enterprise where he can care for the dogs he loves while making a difference in the world has come to life at Planet Pooch - it's a rare and precious entity; an irreplaceable part of our lives, and those of others.

Dan’s commitment to dogs means that he has the highest standards for his crew, and is uncompromising with the well-being of the dogs in his care. But he goes further than that. Five years ago my husband was diagnosed with cancer - upon hearing about the rigorous treatment schedule, Dan arranged for someone (often Dan) to come by and pick up Zeke regularly so that he got the exercise and social time he needed. Dan’s generosity made a huge difference for our lives, and I can only imagine how he has impacted others. It’s time to let him know!"

-Sofie Kleppner